Irish-bred No Nay Hudson, stakes-placed on three previous occasions, collected the first stakes win of his career when he powered home to beat Two of a Kind by 1 ½ lengths in Saturday's eighth running of the $208,750 William Walker, a listed stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.
Odds-on favorite Gaslight Dancer finished another head back in third in the field of eight.
No Nay Hudson, owned by Andrew Farm (Richard Brodie) and For the People Racing Stable LLC (T. Mike Morgan), clocked 5 ½ furlongs over a firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:02.30 to eclipse Big Invasion's 2022 stakes record of 1:03.73. James Graham rode the winner for trainer Wesley Ward.
No Nay Hudson was rated in seventh three-wide and in the clear only 3¾ lengths back of the leaders Two of a Kind and Crispy Cat (GB), who rattled off early fractions of :21.78 and :44.56. Leaving the far turn, No Nay Hudson (IRE) tipped out six wide and hit his best stride with three-sixteenths of a mile to run and collared Two of Kind inside the final furlong for the win.
“Wesley called me earlier and just said to let this horse break on his own and take you there,” Graham said. “He has a lot of early speed but I didn't break as well as we thought we would. He got into a good spot early and was able to get the job done. I was very fortunate to be able to ride this horse and I think Wesley and the owners will have some fun with him in the future.”
No Nay Hudson is a No Nay Never colt out of the Malibu Moon mare Raw Silk, who was bred by RJB Bloodstock. Now owning a 7-2-2-1 record, No Nay Hudson has earned $233,546 with $120,280 coming from the winner's share of the William Walker purse.
The breakthrough William Walker win was preceded by second-place finishes in last year's Skidmore at Saratoga and Atlantic Beach at Aqueduct along with a third in the Indian Summer during Keeneland's fall meet.
Prior to the Walker, No Nay Hudson finished sixth of 12 in the Palisades at Keeneland over a course rated as good.
No Nay Hudson returned $23.54 for the win at odds of 10-1.
Crispy Cat was fourth and followed in order by Private Creed, Ah Jeez, Gilcrease and Chiringo.
No Nay Hudson joined No Nay Mets, victor in the Royal Palm Juvenile at Gulfstream, as one of two stakes winners Saturday for No Nay Never, who stands at Coolmore in Ireland.
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